ACC Officials Stand By Fumble Decision Against Miami Hurricanes
Miami fans would say the ACC referees were the ones who fumbled on a critical decision preceding Georgia Tech's comeback against the Hurricanes.
Hurricanes running back Don Chaney, Jr. lost the football with 33 seconds left in the game. The play was ruled a fumble, reviewed, and the call was confirmed. This came after Mario Cristobal's decision to run the football rather than take a knee and run out the clock.
But should the fumble have been overruled?
ACC Supervisor of Officials Alberto Riveron affirmed that the replay officials correctly ruled on Don Chaney Jr.'s fumble, which led to Miami’s 23-20 loss to Georgia Tech.
— LifeWallet Sports (@lifewalletsport) October 11, 2023
🔗: https://t.co/aaTn60uAwV
"To overturn a ruling on the field, we must have continuous visual… pic.twitter.com/6Oe6mBGOEV
ACC supervisor of officials Alberto Riveron notified ESPN that, "There was no indisputable visual evidence to overturn the ruling on the field."
Riveron continued, "We made the right call on the field based on the angles that were afforded to us. The process and the protocol was followed."
ACC Supervisor of Officials Alberto Riveron told me all the proper procedures and processes were followed on the replay review of Don Chaney's fumble at the end of the Miami game. "We made the right call." https://t.co/jWVDcgINGA
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) October 11, 2023
Multiple replay angles shown on ACC Network appeared to show Chaney's elbow hitting the ground before the ball came lost. The still photo posted above appears to confirm that. Obviously, it was a bang-bang play and clearly a difficult one for the referee to overturn the initial ruling on the field.
Riveron told Andrea Adelson of ESPN, "We look for the football in relationship to where he loses control prior to hitting the ground. You have to have a view of the football the entire time, and you have to watch the football to make sure it's in player possession until the time he's legally down."
Watch this angle below in slow motion and you be the judge... should it have been overturned?
Was Miami’s RB down on the critical fumble in the final minute? pic.twitter.com/cYEeRdVQXR
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) October 8, 2023
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